An M. chimaera infection, unfortunately, may be a risk factor for those patients who went through a surgery with a use of a very particular heater-cooler unit. A recent study determines that the design of the heater-cooler unit can increase a patient’s risk for an M. chimaera infection.

If not captured quickly, an M. chimaera infection can have serious consequences and present life-threatening complications. Unfortunately, infections have affected hundreds of patients across the world with M. chimaera infection. Some of these infections have been linked to the use of the Sorin 3T heater-cooler unit, made by LivaNova.

These heater-cooler units are used to regulate the body temperature of a patient who is going through cardiothoracic surgery and similar procedures.

Currently, the start of the M. chimaera infection is believed to have been contaminated at the German plant in which the devices were manufactured. In 2014, inspectors found traces of bacteria in the manufacturing facility that matched samples taken from heater-cooler units already in use in hospitals.

The upper ventilator of these devices blows possibly contaminated air from directly above the water tank. Contamination within these machines could be a primary culprit for a risk for M. chimaera infection following surgeries in which heater-cooler units were used.

Experts have already recommended that hospitals making use of these devices remove them from the operating room altogether or house them in a separate cage or box to remove them from contaminated operating room air.

LivaNova recently shared that they have begun to modify their heater-cooler units in the 3T line to include a vacuum system and internal ceiling designed to minimize the risk of a M. chimaera infection. Last August, upgrades on existing 3T heater-cooler units began in Europe and as regulatory approvals are received, the company shares that they will continue to update these materials.

The 3T heater-cooler units are used in many different countries and are in fact, one of the leading type of device used to regulate the patient’s body temperature. Unfortunately, far too many patients have suffered devastating consequences when they developed an M. chimaera infection after surgery.

Most of the patients who went through heart surgery and had this heater cooler unit connected to them during that time might not know until it’s too late that the contaminated air can get inside the system and compromise their health and safety. By the time a patient discovers the risks, they might have already been diagnosed with an infection and dealt with the medical consequences to treat that. Without a proper warning, a patient might not even know the signs of the life-threatening infection.

If this happens and the infection is not caught quickly, it could present life threatening consequences. Those patients and family members who have already been affected by this may have chosen to file a lawsuit to recover compensation. Many patients who have already developed an M. chimaera infection and discovered the consequences after their surgeries have opted to file legal claims against the manufacturers of the heater-cooler units.